Festivals
a day or period of the year when people stop working to
celebrate a special event, often a religious one

Festivals were a time of joy to all
people in the Middle Ages. Kings, Nobles, Merchants,
Peasants, all of them celebrated the certain festival
that occurred. The importance of celebrations was found
in a story about two kings, one who was cruel and made
his people work all day, and another who let his people
celebrate all of the time. However, both kingdoms had
their own disadvantages, becoming stressed and thing from
hard work and becoming lazy and fat from celebrations.
People needed a balance from work and fun, for only
having one would cause trouble. Hard work was important,
but to have a rest and enjoy life was also important.

In Medieval Europe, there was at least
one festival in each month. St. Valentines Day
during February, Halloween during October, Easter around
March and April, Christmas during December. Many holidays
we have seen recently have existed in the Middle Ages. Of
course, each had reasons why they were celebrated, but
some holidays were valued more than others. Christmas and
Easter were the most important, not only religiously, but
also for measuring out the year. Up to Christmas was
winter, where wheat was sown. When Easter came, it meant
the arrival of spring crops to grow, such as oats and
barley1. These events were able to let farmers
understand what they should grow in a certain time period.
However, holidays were not only done to have efficient
farming, but mostly to have fun.

Christmas which was celebrated during
December, was celebrated in twelve days (ending on the
fifth of January) 2. Twelve was an important number during
Christmas, as it was a time of the number
twelve. People made toasts twelve times, walked
under the Kissing Bush twelve, tables were set for twelve
people, and holies were separated into twelve for
decorations. People had to get ready twelve gifts which
they exchanged to receive twelve gifts. Twelve different
dishes had to be served throughout the twelve days of
Christmas. They brought in wood which was used for the
fire place, of course throughout the twelve days3.

The dining hall of a Medieval Castle
would have been filled with green during Christmas. Ivy,
bay, and other every green leaves and twigs were brought
it. The holy was most valued as it was also used in the
past during winter as a lucky charm to bring
better harvesting for the following year. Of course, each
twig of the holy would have twelve leaves. However, out
of all of the green decorated around the dining hall, the
Kissing Bush stood out the most (there were no Christmas
Trees in Medieval Europe) 4. The Kissing
Bush was hanged near the entrance of the dining hall so
it was inevitable to avoid it. People who walked under it
had to kiss the person nearest to them. Thus, having
twelve days of Christmas, everyone had to do this ritual
at least twelve times. At the same time, the guests would
exchange one of their twelve presents which was done to
remind them of Jesus who was a gift from the Lord5.

The Kissing Bush and the exchange of
presents was a sign of love in Christmas. That love was
not only shown to humans, but also was shown to nature.
The act of decorating the dining hall with green was to
pray for more harvesting the next year6.
Not only to plants, but love was shown to animals in
certain countries. For a start, no one was allowed to eat
until the animals have started. Some dishes, such as
pudding, had to have had the first slice eaten by the
farms most favorite. Food given to the animals also had
to be more than usual so they could have withstood the
harsh cold. This show of love and respect to animals was
connected to religion, to be thankful for animals7.

Easter was celebrated on different days
each year. In fact, Easter was barely celebrated on the
same day. The holiday was celebrated over one hundred
twenty days and Easter Sunday was right in the middle of
those days8. Easter began with Lent nine weeks before
Easter Sunday and ended eight weeks later with Whitsunday.
Being in between two religious holidays, Easter itself
was also very religious.

In Medieval Europe, the main events
were Morris Dancing, Pace Egging, and Mystery Plays.
Morris Dancing was a traditional dance which was done to
welcome spring in. The twelve dancers would
have tap-shoes like shoes which would have created a loud
sound with one step. With the accompaniment of other loud
instruments, the dancers would dance clockwise around the
dining hall waking up the spirits of spring. Easter,
which was a festival to remember the resurrection of
Jesus, was a time of revival as well, from the cold
winter into the warm and lively spring. The act of waking
up the sprits was to pray for a better harvest and a
great herd of animals9. Pace Eggs were
hard boiled eggs which were painted with plants into
different colors and designs. It was the main decoration
for an Easter feast. However, not only as decorations,
Pace Eggs were also used as a payment to those who put on
acts such as St. George and the Dragon. Also, these eggs
were also rolled to under person, as a gift or a sign of
friendship. These Pace Eggs were renamed in the future to
Easter Eggs, a term which some people might
be more familiar with10. Mystery Plays
were religious plays which were done for two main reasons,
one, to entertain people, and Two, to teach people about
Christianity and spread it among the people. The play
done during Easter was The Flood of Noah. The flood which
caused deadly damage to Earth was lead to the rebirth of
life later. The story of Noah was a great example of
Easters main theme, rebirth12.

St. Valentines Day, which was
celebrated during February, was a festival of Love. Even
birds during that period found partners to mate with.
Thus, it wasnt only a time of love for humans, but
for animals as well12. During St. Valentines Day, decorations
and feats had to be related to love. Love Lanterns were a
decoration which had a loving face carved on vegetables
or fruits which had a candle lit inside to give out a
warm glow (very similar to a Jack-o-lantern). Different
symbols also existed which represented love, such as the
Love Not and the Letter A. The Love not was the 8 sign,
represented everlasting love. The Letter A
originated from the Latin word Amor (love) 13.
Fortune telling based on love was very popular during St.
Valentines Day. Many methods existed, such as
picking petals from a flower predicting if the other
person loved you or not.

Halloween during October was when the
existence of spirits and ghosts were the strongest. This
was because the day after Halloween was All Saints
Day when all the past existing Saints were praised14.
During this time of the year, children would have put on
masks and walked through the streets while they ate Soul
Cakes with the spirits and ghosts. Halloween had a strong
image of death, but it was not only because of the day
after, but also because October was the beginning of
winter (in any cases, represented death). On the other
hand, people still enjoyed themselves during Halloween
with feasts and games, but mostly with their fortune
being told. In fact, Halloween had the most fortune
telling done compared to the other medieval festivals.
Popular methods used apples, such as Apple Bobbing,
trying to fish out the apple with heir loved ones
name one15.

As well as other festivals which were
celebrated during the middle ages, many of them were
related to religion and nature. Both were important to
all people for those helped create people a proper life.
Festivals could have been seen, not only as a time to
have enjoyment and relaxation, but also as a time which
reminded everyone of the thankfulness they should show
for religion and nature.